How Sign is Transforming a Wisconsin Stage

Jacqueline Kehoe, Arts Midwest

“Silence is the perfectest herald of joy,” writes Shakespeare in Much Ado About Nothing. The playwright who defined modern English, oddly enough, knew that words were only half the story.

Wisconsin’s American Players Theatre (APT) has taken this sentiment to heart. Set in the hills of rural Spring Green, roughly an hour from Madison, the classical venue is creating performances, events, and audience experiences with and by deaf artists, reimagining how theatre tells everyone’s story.

In 2023, APT produced Romeo & Juliet, but with a twist: Actor Josh Castillo played Romeo, and Robert Schleifer played Friar Lawrence—both deaf performers. “I only did Romeo & Juliet that year,” says Castille, “and Brenda [DeVita] and I had a conversation—what would it mean to have me for a whole season?”

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